Wartime Japanese Rifles

03/10/2017

From the perspective of the modern wartime Japanese sword collector of vintage Japanese swords, the words “very fine” don’t often belong in the same sentence as “wartime Japanese swords.” This is not just opinion or snobbery, but a hard-coded element of Japanese law, as established during the Occupation era. According to legend, General MacArthur was prepared to ban all ownership of Japanese swords, traditional or otherwise, as part of the post-War disarmament before a group of leading experts convinced him that with proper training and preparation, an inspector could tell the difference between traditional and non-traditional swords; in essence, that a line separated “art” from “weapon” when it came to swords. Anything above that line was a treasure worthy of preservation (language still seen on certification paperwork even today), and anything below was a mistake to be forgotten.

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The Rifle from "The Battle of Saipan"

Lot 516: Japanese Type 99 Bolt Action Rifle with Inscribed Presentation Plaque

"If this gun could talk," is the frequent lament of those of us who have collected an old gun or two. The mind races at the historical prospects and wonders about the tired hands that once bore these fascinating machines. What was their name? Were their hands soiled with honest labor or with the blood of innocent men? What places did they see? Such questions especially plague the collectors of military surplus ("milsurp") firearms. Whether long arms or handguns, these weapons of nations from around the world are more likely to have seen the cruelest of all settings: war.

Numerous milsurp arms appear in any given auction at Rock Island Auction Company, but it is a rare one indeed that is accompanied by its own verifiable history. One such gun appears in our 2017 February Regional Auction, and it was involved in one of the most strategically important battles in World War II's Pacific Theater: The Battle of Saipan.

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The Golden Luger: A Gift Between Two Nazis Who Changed History

Lot 1489: Exceptional and Historic Nazi 1939 Mauser Factory Engraved and Gold Plated Presentation Luger Semi-Automatic Pistol Given to the Nazi Ambassador Franz von Papen by Foreign Minister of the Reich Joachim von Ribbentrop with Authentication from a Mauser Factory Consultant

History is a funny thing. As hard as we humans try to document it, the facts of the matter only occasionally prevail, rarely survive, and are often up to interpretation. Much like human memory itself, we often serve as storytellers, making our own omissions and exaggerations instead of acting as stern and fact-obsessed archivists. Each camp has its own validity. The "archivists" often state that the history speaks for itself and needs no embellishment, while the "storytellers" often excuse their inaccuracies by saying it makes the history approachable, relatable, and easier to imagine those fantastic moments that stitch together the tapestry of our past.

Knowing what we do about the human memory, and our suspect ability to accurately document history, it should come as no surprise that history is often told selectively. Things are attributed to more famous names in history, while lesser known names lie in their wake, largely forgotten. This is an article about two of those lesser known names and a brilliant Luger pistol that passed between them.





The Luger itself is a Mauser manufacture pistol that began its life rather uneventfully. According to accompanying documents written by Dr. Rolf Gminder, a consultant to the Mauser-Werkes factory who had personally viewed the pistol, it was originally one of any number of Lugers in the existing stock of police guns. However, this gun was selected for something more. It began with the highest quality engraving Germany had to offer. The typical "oak leaf and acorn" pattern takes on a distinct variation with more flowing vinous scroll work and geometric shapes than typically seen on the more deep relief engraved Walther PP and PPK pistols that often served as Nazi presentation pistols.

The dark walnut grips have also been carved with the oak and acorn pattern, but while the right grip shows fine checkering in its center, the left grip bears a presentation plaque that reads,

Seiner Exzellenz

Herrn Botshafter Franz von Papen

in tiefster Verehrung
am 11ten November 1940

überreicht von Joachim von Ribbentrop

Aussenminister 
des Deutchen Reiches

That translates to:

His Excellency

the Honorable Ambassador Franz von Papen

in deepest dedication
on 11th November 1940

given by Joachim von Ribbentrop

Foreign Minister of the German Reich

Many presentation arms leave a mystery about who presented the gun and who received it. Sometimes they are decorated with no inscription at all, while others only bear the cryptic monogram of their recipient. This pistol leaves no such riddles and instead offers us an excellent starting point to explore who these men were, what they did, and the background of this extravagant Luger.

Franz von Papen

1936 portrait of Papen

Thankfully, Franz von Papen is not one of those names lost to time or a German military man of whom little information remains. That said, his deeds place him far from a spot of honor in history. In the simplest terms, Papen was a politician. Born in 1879  to a wealthy family, he entered the military early on, and by the Great War was already a military attaché in Washington. However, at the behest of the U.S. Government he was recalled in 1915 after being implicated as a spy and saboteur. After serving the rest of the war for Germany, he entered politics and found his true calling. He served in the Prussian Parliament for 11 years, before being surprisingly appointed Chancellor in 1932 by President Paul von Hindenburg, who had been undeniably influenced by General Kurt von Schleicher, an old friend of Papen's who had great influence with the German president.

Once in a position of power, Papen achieved some impressive feats considering the near-complete lack of support he had within the Reichstag. Instead he achieved his changes through authoritarian rule. In an effort to gain the support of the Nazi party, he repealed the ban on their paramilitary Sturmabteilung (SA). He also had Germany's debt under the Treaty of Versailles essentially erased. In this trend of removing previous laws, Papen also staged a coup and deposed the Social Democratic government of Prussia using police, and declared himself its leader. These authoritarian measures are marked by many as setting the stage for the rise of the Third Reich, a charge echoed in his Nuremberg trial.

Taken from a larger photo, Papen can be seen
sitting in the back seat of Hitler's vehicle.

After the coup, he called for a national election and was surprised when he still had no support from the Reichstag. Instead, the Nazis seized the moment and gained 123 seats, giving them a majority in the governing body. Papen planned to dissolve the democracy, and even had advance permission from Hindenburg. However, the Nazis had other ideas. Rolling with the tide, Papen then tried to work with the Nazis, but found them unbending and so resigned as chancellor after the November 1932 elections. After some major politicking and maneuvering between President Hindenburg, Gen. Schleicher, and Papen, with no one able to firm up support from the Nazis and the Social Democrats, Papen worked relentlessly to undermine his former friend Schleicher to give Adolf Hitler the chancellorship while he served as vice chancellor. It would not take long for Hitler and new Reichstag President Herman Göring to marginalize Papen and his office, eventually executing "The Night of Long Knives," a purging of opposing political and military ideologies that threatened Hitler's new found power. Papen would survive the event, later serving as an ambassador to Austria and Turkey before being captured by the Allies in April of 1945. He was prosecuted at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial, found not guilty of the charges of "conspiracy to prepare aggressive war" and "conspiracy to commit crimes against peace," served eight years hard labor by a West German court, and was finally released & fined in 1949 on appeal. His memoirs were published in 1952 and he died in 1969.

Largely due to his Nuremberg Trial, Papen is often remembered as paving the way for Nazi power, facilitating the annexation of Austria, and being well aware of Nazi ideology as he did so.

Joachim von Ribbentrop

If Papen paved the way for the Nazi party to take power in Germany, then Joachim von Ribbentrop turned that paved highway into the Autobahn. He too served in the Great War, as a hussar on the Eastern front, but afterward he resumed the relatively normal life of a sparkling wine (Sekt) salesman until he became independently wealthy by marriage. He met Hitler in 1932 as a businessman thanks to an introduction from a fellow former hussar, and shortly thereafter he and his wife joined the NSDAP (Nazi Party). He entered the political arena by offering to serve as a representative between Hitler and his old battle buddy, Papen. Ribbentrop was not liked by many Nazis: he was a flatterer, a yes man, had no political experience, married into his fortune, and even the nobility of his name (the "von") had come from an aunt that Ribbentrop had convinced to formally adopt him for that purpose alone. Despite his lack of the "proper" credentials in the eyes of many Nazis, Ribbentrop would serve as Hitler's chief adviser on foreign affairs, and would soon prove his worth.

In short, Ribbentrop would put into play numerous policies that placated the world and gave Nazi Germany numerous advantages in the years leading up to World War II. Here is a brief list of his diplomatic agreements and similar achievements.

• 1934 - Helped quell France's protests against Germany's request to re-arm itself after the Great War. He also visited England and Rome to hasten any sanctions from those countries. In turn, Hitler promotes him to "Reich Minister Ambassador-Plenipotentiary at Large."
• 1935 - Negotiates the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA), which permanently limited the Kriegsmarine to 35% of the total tonnage of the Royal Navy, far beyond the limits set in the Versailles Treaty. The British expectation was that this would limit German military capacity, while the Germans expected it to strengthen a desired alliance between the two countries and against France and the Soviet Union. Britain did not consult with France or Italy prior ratifying the AGNA.
• 1935 - Arranges for good will visits between groups of World War I veterans. By sending German veterans abroad and accepting foreign veterans on German soil, a "never again" spirit was portrayed and did much to alleviate suspicions against Germany and its wish to re-arm itself.
• 1936 - The Anti-Comintern Pact is signed with Japan, essentially forming an alliance between the two countries should one of them be attacked by the Soviet Union. Italy would join the pact in 1937, while Poland declined. This alliance was especially unusual given Germany's previous policies of allying itself with China and its general distrust of Japan.
• 1936-1938 - Spent time unintentionally and permanently fouling German relations with England. He was called by various Britains: pompous, conceited, stupid, impossible, not too intelligent, insufferable, absent (which also earned him the nickname "The Wandering Aryan"), a stupid ass, and also managed to personally insult King George VI.
• 1938 - Ribbentrop promoted to Foreign Minister, symbolizing a German shift from cautious diplomacy seeker toward an aggressive war-time nation.
• 1939 - Pact of Steel is made with Italy. The two will come to one another's aid in case of war.
• 1939 - The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Also known as the German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact, it assured non-aggression between the USSR and Germany. but broke the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936 by signing a deal with the communists. In no uncertain terms, this was Ribbentrop's crowning achievement and left little standing in the way for Hitler to attack Poland. This was handy since Ribbentrop's extreme bullying of Polish foreign diplomats all but ensured that Poland would have to be conquered to relinquish the territories that Germany desired.
• 1940 - German-Japanese Pact is signed to replace the Anti-Comintern Pact. Ribbentrop sends a telegram to Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister, stating that the alliance was for protection against the United States and from not the Soviet Union.

Despite being hated by his fellow Nazis and nearly every foreign diplomat he ever met, Ribbentrop
almost single-handedly managed to stall the entire world from acting against Germany as they prepared to conquer Europe. This is quite an accomplishment considering that the ink on the Versailles Treaty had only dried 20 years prior and the memory of the Great War still hung fresh in the mind of every nation it touched. After the war, Ribbertrop also was a defendant at the Nuremberg Trials, but unlike Papen, he was convicted on four counts and sentenced to death. He had been charged with crimes against peace, deliberately planning a war of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Because Göring had committed suicide before he could be hung, Ribbentrop was the first of the defendants to have his death sentence carried out.

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One aspect of the relationship between these two comrades in arms remains for a dedicated collector or historian to investigate. This pistol is dated on the grip as presented on the November 11, 1940. However, there is a documented squabble between the two men that took place sometime in, or just after, April 1939, when Papen was the newly appointed Ambassador to Turkey. It turns out that Papen, the former Chancellor, felt he should be able to take his communications directly to Hitler instead of through Ribbentrop, something he was accustomed to when he served as Ambassador to Austria. It has been written that this spat ended the friendship that extended back nearly two decades.

Had the two men reconciled by 1940, even if only out of political necessity? Was their falling out misrepresented as more serious than it was? It is possible, though not entirely plausible, that the pistol was already in the works when Papen was Ambassador to Austria. After all, even though he was dismissed as the Austrian Ambassador on February 4, 1938, he had arranged the February 12 meeting at Berchtesgaden between Hitler and Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg that eventually led to the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Germany, which was signed into law on March 13. This event pleased Hitler greatly.

However, from just prior to the 1938 Anschluss until the 1940 presentation seems like an exceptionally long turnaround time for a standard police pistol that had only to be embellished. It is perhaps more likely that the pistol was ordered to commemorate Papen's new position as the Ambassador to Turkey which he assumed on April 29, 1939. This makes much more sense since it is also known that Ribbentrop had been lobbying for Papen to receive that position since losing the Austrian ambassadorship. Given the dates between Papen's new position and timeframe of the fight, he could not have held the position long prior to their rift.  Six months is a much more plausible timeframe for a finely embellished, presentation Luger.

Despite being two men rarely heard of outside of German history or World War II educational settings, they had quite a profound impact on their country and the world. One paved the way for the Nazis to come to power, while the other pacified country after country in the name of peace, all the while preparing for war. The fact that these two men were brothers in arms who went on to be high ranking Nazis is fascinating enough. When you consider that these same individuals played huge roles in amplifying the power of Nazi Germany, and are both listed on the same classic German pistol, a true treasure of history exists. Their names may not be as infamous, but their significance cannot be discounted.

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This historic well-preserved German artifact is just one of the dozens of incredible German military pieces in our April Premiere Firearms Auction. From the incredible rarities, prototypes, and high condition arms from The Robert "The Bear" Bretherton Collection (please see below video), to the incredibly well preserved uniforms and helmets in the Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection, this auction will have it all.  Other highlights include a Krieghoff Second model FG42 machine gun, an extremely rare M.Kb.42(H) assault rifle - a predecessor to the StG44, a cased presentation copy of Mein Kampf covered completely in Amber tile and silver furniture, an authentic, original uniform from the Fallschirm-Panzer "Herman Göring" Division, a Nazi Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (with oak leaves) war medal, the entire evolution of the Walther P38, and a presentation Walther PP given to SS Untersturmfuhrer Maximilian Grabner. It's a fantastic time to be a collector!








-Written by Joel R. Kolander




SOURCES:


Bloch, Michael. Ribbentrop. New York: Crown, 1992. Print.

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-von-Papen

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Joachim-von-Ribbentrop

http://www.rockislandauction.com/viewitem/aid/67/lid/1489

Good Things Come in Pairs: German Rarities

Thanks to two studious German military collectors, Rock Island Auction Company has amassed a German Military arms collection that will stun enthusiasts, collectors, and investors of the genre, as well as more than a few curious spectators.  These collections are the illustrious Gene Smith Collection and Part II of the meticulous Von Norden Collection.  As many collectors saw previously in our May Premiere Firearms Auction, the Von Norden Collection is a comprehensive study into German arms and what at times seems like an endless list of variants.  The Gene Smith Collection, on the other hand, while also filled with many excellent quality and rare firearms, showcases the labor of love over several decades in its abundance of prototype and rare German arms.

Today's story is going to cover two supremely rare German military arms from the Von Norden Collection.  Specifically, they come from a portion of the Collection so thorough and impressive it nearly warrants its own collection.  The congregation of World War II German Machine Guns in the Von Norden Collection defies belief.  This will stand as the finest and most significant compilation of World War II German Machine Guns ever before offered.  With a claim like that, let's show you a pair of items that can help prove it.

Super Rare Original Fully Automatic Class III/NFA World War II German C.G. Haenel Manufactured Mkb.42(H) Assault Rifle with Original Sheet Metal Sniper Scope Mount and ZF41/1 Sniper Scope

The gun you see above is the ONLY known one in private hands - making it a top collectible even were it without its superb condition.  It is an MKb.42(H) ("MKb" is an abbreviation of "Maschinen karabiner"), the grandfather of all German assault rifles.  Around 1935-1937 a contract was issued from HWaA, the weapons agency of the Wehrmacht, to C.G. Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik to develop a short-range intermediate round that would eventually become the 7.92x33 Kurz (short).  That was finished in 1938 and with their new cartridge the HWaA then tasked them in 1939 with building a prototype, fully automatic rifle to fire the new round.  Walther also submitted a prototype to compete for the eventual contract, but the Haenel design won out.  Working for Haenel at that time was renowned designer Hugo Schmeisser who borrowed from the already successful MP-40 design to ensure the rifle could be constructed almost entirely of sheet metal stampings instead of machined parts, resulting in a cheaper and more quickly produced gun. The design was a success and the MKb.42(H) would begin to make its way to the front lines in late 1942.  As with all initial designs, it would eventually be improved upon and in 1943 its improvements would be released in a new rifle, the MP-43.  The switch from MKb to MP came in 1943 when Hitler decreed, due to infighting, that all rifle development programs were to cease so that additional newer submachine guns could be produced that utilized existing ammunition.  Since the MKb wasn't something Hitler wanted developed, it was simply given an MP moniker, the MP-43, and development continued.  Unfortunately, the trick was discovered by the führer who stopped that program yet again, only to allow it continue later solely for evaluation purposes.  The gun's performance and superior results saved it from history's dust bin.  Hitler approved continuation of development and eventually distributed the first MP-43s to the Waffen-SS.

The exact scenario of Hitler and his Minister of Armaments Albert Speer is unknown, but Hitler appears
less than pleased with the weapons lain before him.  On the left appears to be the MkB.42 and on the right a more finalized version of the weapon.

Making the earliest predecessor of the MP44/StG-44 even more exceptional is World War II sheet metal sniper scope mount and the ZF41/1 sniper scope that it holds.  Only a handful of these original stamped metal mounts are known to exist today!  Together, the rifle and the scope mount arguably mark two of the most scarce pieces of the genre.  As if this lot could not get any more desirable for collectors, the rifle comes with an original leather sling and an original magazine with the "MKb.42" marking.

Exceptionally Rare Original World War II German STG-44 Assault Rifle with the Ultra Rare Experimental Krummlauf Curved Barrel and Optical Sighting Device

The second gun we'll look at today is already a rare gun, but its ultra rare attachment is what pushes its appeal to a fever pitch.  Well out of the early developmental stages of the previous gun, this World War II StG-44 assault rifle is a solid representation of those that saw widespread use in battle.

A total of 425,977 StG-44 assault rifles and all its variants were produced by the end of the war and development had already begun on an StG-45.  One of those aforementioned variants that remains in ultra rare status to this day is the Krummlauf, a bent barrel attachment with its special optical sighting device.  Working much like a periscope, the optics allowed the user to see "around corners," though they were originally designed for use by troops in armored vehicles so they could effectively defend the "blind spots" that occurred in close range around the vehicles.

The Krummlaufs came in several variants and angles.  There were versions with 30°, 45°, 60°, & 90° bends, an "I" version for infantry, a "P" version for tanks, one for the StG-44, and one for the MG-42.  This particular model is the "V" version, the final one ever produced.  It utilized a series of vent holes along the top rear portion to help relieve excess gas to help keep the barrels from bursting.  The 30° "I" version is the only one produced in any significant number, though even that number is small - while 20,000 units were ordered only an estimated 500 were ever delivered.  Making these low numbers lower still are the incredibly short life spans of these devices.  Due to the redirection of gases and the high resultant friction from the bullet, the 30° version could fire roughly 300 rounds and the 45° could handle even fewer, 160. That huge amount of friction also affected the speed of the bullet, again in varying amounts depending on the angle of the Krummlauf.  Some reports indicate muzzle velocities as low as 300 meters per second, but this was not listed as a problem for the Wehrmacht since they intended the attachment to be used primarily for short-range combat.

Looking through the optics and seeing the front sights (barrel is lowest object in photo).
Note the different angles for where the device attaches and the muzzle.

While these two fully automatic German  firearms easily qualify as the type that collectors dream about, they do not come close to showing the full selection present in the September 2014 Premiere Firearms Auction at Rock Island Auction Company.  Not only will there be additional Stg-44 rifles, but also MP-40 submachine guns, two MG-34 machine guns, an MG-42 with its accessories, an MP43 from Steyr-Solothurn, a Mauser Model 1932 Schnellfeuer machine pistol, a DWM World War I 1908 heavy machine gun, and the finest known FG-42 paratrooper rifle in existence!  And those are just from the German class III weapons.  We haven't even started on the American models or those from other European countries!  If you ever considered collecting or investing in foreign military arms, this is an auction you can't afford to miss.  If these two astounding collections had machine guns of this rarity and high quality, imagine what else they contain.

1911s of the Second World War

As we all know, when American decided to enter World War II after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor it was "all hands on deck."  Everyone in the nation was contributing through whatever means necessary: rationing of goods, rubber drives, saving fats, Victory gardens, nylon drives, tin can collection, carpooling, blackouts, women joining the workforce en masse, and hundreds of thousands of War Bonds were sold.  However, John and Jane Q. Public were not the only ones to contribute to the war effort.  Corporations across America were tooling up to help meet war needs and to beat back the Axis powers.  The Kaiser Corporation, which had seen great growth in the 1930s building dams under federal contracts, began building ships, planes, and other vehicles.  Ford Motor Company has been producing airplane engines for the British before America entered the war, but soon switched over to full-time military production making B-24 Liberators, superchargers, generators, military gliders, tanks, armored cars, jeeps, grenades, bombs, landing crafts and more.  Chrysler was making tanks, anti-aircraft guns, the Martin B-26 bomber and B-29 Superfortress, fuses, shells and more!  Countless companies dropped what they were doing before the war, refocused, and turned the full industrial might of a nation on toward the war effort.

If a country is saving its pan drippings to beat you, that's a bad sign.

The 1911A1 was not immune to this boost in production from multiple sources.  Part of this precipitated thanks to the War Department not allowing many contractors to finish their World War I contracts.  By cancelling those productions, the United States found itself short of sidearms, much like it did at the beginning of World War I.  This lack of produced firearms was exacerbated by the slashed military funding after WWI.  Since soldiers were not needed in their WWI quantities, the government limited the Army 144,000 officers and men!  If that's the limit they placed on personnel, you can imagine the financial restrictions placed on munitions, arms, parts, repairs, and other military essentials.

With multiple manufacturers required to build the United States' arsenals to appropriate levels for war, it would give collectors of the legendary pistol quite a bit to focus on in future decades.  1911 production models during World War II were manufactured by five different companies - ALL of which will be appearing in Rock Island Auction Company's May 2014 Premiere Firearms Auction.  1911s will be generously represented as will many of the U.S. military arms, Class III firearms, and an extraordinary collection of German WWII military items known simply as The Von Norden Collection.

We will also be auctioning M1911 pistols from every manufacturer during the first World War, but that's an article for another week.  Back to the topic at hand.  It was the aforementioned shortage of military funding that led to the most desirable of all 1911A1s: the Singer.


Singer
The Army's cash shortage was notable.  Then Captain George S. Patton is said to have used his own funds to pay for parts to keep his successful tank brigade up and running.  The M1 Garand, while still adopted, had to compromise and be made in the existing .30-06 cartridge instead of the superior .276 Pedersen round.  The new round would have taken massive funds to be developed and produced as well as required the conversions of vast amounts of the Army's machine guns.  To help its financial burden the Army had to get creative as is best described in Patrick Sweeney's book 1911: The First 100 Years.

"Despite this situation, the Army was able to make some progress in the late 1930s and early 1940s before Pearl Harbor.  They were able to issue "educational contracts" to manufacturers, contracts that paid for the costs of setting up to make small arms, and to produce a small run as proof of performance.  One such contract went to the Singer Sewing Machine Company in April of 1940.  Singer was able to produce the 500 test pistols required.  but with delivery of the 500 right at Pearl Harbor time, the government's contract offering of 15,000 more pistols was turned down, Singer's board of directors feeling that their company's skills, knowledge, and factory were better put to use manufacturing ship and artillery fire control directors.  So the 1911A1 tolling was boxed off to Remington Rand.  Those 500 Singer 1911A1s are the perhaps the Holy Grail of 1911 collecting." 

Those original 500 pistols were distributed to Army Air Corps personnel.

Rare World War II U.S. Singer Manufacturing Company Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol

Remington Rand
Remington was so busy making rifles, that they really didn't have a lot of time to dedicate to side arms.  This despite the fact that they had already made about 22,000 pistols during WWI before the government shut down its production line, due to interchangibility issues with the pistols made by Colt and Springfield (however, it was this issue that led to Colt producing a new set of production specs in 1936 which would greatly aid production in WWII).  Perhaps it was a still a sour taste in their mouth from that previous wrist-slapping that led Remington-UMC to send their government contract to their subsidiary formed in 1886, Remington Typewriter.  The spin-off's merger with Rand Kardex and Powers Accounting in 1927 left it renamed Remington Rand, but they soon began manufacturing 1911A1s in addition to the glut of typewriters that were also needed for the war.  After some brief production issues that required the attention of President James Rand, Jr. to fix, Remington Rand manufactured slightly less than 878,000 1911A1 pistols between the years 1942 and 1945, making them the leading wartime manufacturer of the pistol.

Side note:  Remington Rand received part of their tooling from Singer, who declined their government contract, but they also received tooling from Harrison & Richardson.  H&R at that time was going through a bankruptcy was only able to produce 20 pistols, not even enough for a successful "test batch" as Singer had produced.  None of H&R's 20 pistols were accepted and the government rescinded their contract in June 1942.  Some of the 1911 tooling at H&R went to Remington Rand, but most of it went to our next 1911 manufacturer.

Unique Very Early Production Second Contract U.S. Remington-Rand Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol without FJA and Ordnance Proof

Ithaca
Despite their financial troubles in the late 1960s, Ithaca Gun Company was a prominent firearms manufacturer when America became involved in WWII.  The government didn't require many of their popular shotguns (yet did ask them to make several thousand 12-gauge riot shotguns with M1917 bayonet attachments), but did offer them a contract to produce 60,000 1911A1s in 1942.  After receiving some of the necessary tooling from Harrington & Richardson, Ithaca began rapidly producing the desperately-needed pistols - even going as far as to assemble pistols from parts shipped to them by other manufacturers.  Some of these parts were from surplus WWI production, including about 6,000 Colt receivers!  Soon Ithaca would have all the manufacturing equipment in-house and would ramp up production to total 335,000 - 340,000 pistols between late 1943 until the end of the war.  Ithaca could have produced many more of these pistols had the government not cancelled the contract in its post-war fund cutting.

Fun Fact:  Ithaca was invited to produce a "test batch" of pistols in the Army's fund raising efforts, but the Army discontinued the program before they could submit a batch.

Excellent U.S. Ithaca Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol

Colt
Colt's story of WWII production 1911A1 pistols is a little different than every other manufacturer here for the simple fact that they were assembling them readily before WWII.  In fact, once the government contracts increased due to war, Colt discontinued making their Government Model 1911 pistols (which is what Colt called the 1911 made for the civilian market) in 1942 so that they could focus all of their pistol manufacturing efforts toward military sidearms.  They even took 6,575 existing, unsold Government Model guns, re-stamped, and Parkerized them for the Army.  The parts for these civilian guns were also used to satisfy military contracts.

In the story of 1911A1 pistols, Colt is more often mentioned as a reference for all the other companies that were contracted to also make the pistols.  Colt was often helping provide technical assistance (as was Springfield), to these newly contracted manufacturers.  One would think that between providing all this help and its status as one the government's primary machine gun producers, Colt could have used the same excuse as Remington and said it had "no time" to make the 1911 pistols that it already knew so well how to produce.  However, it still turned out around 629,000 1911A1 pistols, making it the second leading producer of the beloved sidearm in addition to having a mandated priority of producing the United States' machine guns (M1919, M1919A6, & M2HB).

World War II U.S. Army Colt Model 1911A1 Pistol

Union Switch & Signal
Union Switch and Signal, referred to more commonly as just "Switch & Signal" was the last company to be offered a M1911A1 contract.  As one can infer from the name, this subsidiary of Westinghouse Air Brake Company was accustomed to making railroad equipment.  In 1942 they received their first contract and began producing, but just after they had begun, the government realized they had ordered too many pistols and asked US&S to make M1 carbine parts instead.  The next month their contract for pistols was officially cut from 200,000 to 30,000.  US&S agreed to make the M1 parts and just when they almost finished with the initial slashed order of pistols and were to begin manufacturing the carbine parts, the government reneged again and instead increased their original M911A1 order by 25,000.  US&S ended up producing 55,000 pistols for their indecisive client.

U.S. Union Switch & Signal Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol

The 1911, despite being firmly entrenched in the hearts of American collectors, suffered after World War II.  Colt was actually losing money toward the end of the war and with thousands of veterans returning home with guns, they didn't have as many people looking to buy.  In fact, no M1911 or M1911A1 pistols have been produced after 1945.  Even with the Korean War providing a new source of income, Colt had to sell in 1955 to the Penn-Texas Corporation, setting in motion a long string of mismanagement and apathy.  In 1985, the the Beretta 92F was officially adopted and replaced the M1911A1 as the sidearm of the Army.  1911 pistols are not without their detractors, but they have served the United States longer than any other military arm, thus cementing themselves and their inventor into the history and lore of this country.













SOURCES

Clawson, Charles W. Colt .45 Service Pistols: Models of 1911 and 1911A1: Complete Military History, Development, and Production 1900 through 1945. Fort Wayne, IN: C.W. Clawson, 1991. Print.

http://www.coolgunsite.com/pistols/colt%20production.htm

http://www.m1911.org/full_history.htm

http://www.nramuseum.org/the-museum/the-galleries/ever-vigilant/case-64-world-war-ii-us/us-colt-model-1911a1-semi-automatic-pistol.aspx

Sweeney, Patrick. 1911: The First 100 Years. Iola, WI: Krause Pubns, 2010. Print.